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A father and son died after their jet ski rammed into a seawall in the Florida Keys, say officials.
The 47-year-old father, from Miami-Dade County, who was not identified by police, had been driving the watercraft at full speed in a residential canal with a no-wake zone around 7pm on Tuesday.
Boats in that area are only permitted to operate at idle speed, according to authorities.
“He hit head on. There was no slowing down,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay told the Miami Herald. The man had his nine-year-old son on the watercraft with him.
The 2018 Yamaha jet ski slammed into the seawall with such force that the man was thrown 20 feet onto land. The child was launched into the water. Witnesses who saw what happened jumped into the water to save the child.
Monroe County Fire Rescue paramedics declared the man dead at the scene.
The boy was put in a helicopter ambulance to be transported to the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. He went into cardiac arrest en-route and the helicopter landed at Baptist Health Mariners Hospital in the Upper Keys area of Tavernier, where the child died.
A photo of the wreckage shows the damaged jet ski floating against the seawall. One of the child’s shoes was on the jet ski when emergency services arrived.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the incident.
“This is an active investigation; no further information is currently available,” Arielle Callender, a department spokesperson told the outlet.“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims during this difficult time.”
